Fictiv streamlines communications to its online interface

With Fictiv’s recently added Live Annotations feature, users get immediate manufacturing feedback from Fictiv engineers, which helps in the production of better user products.

“Often valuable design for manufacturing feedback is only available to a few users subscribing to expensive CAD packages, but our goal at Fictiv is to make these tools more accessible to the masses,” said Dave Evans, CEO and cofounder, Fictiv. “Fictiv’s Live Annotation feature offers fast, thorough advice based on computational analysis and the experience of our skilled engineers, eliminating the back and forth between designers and shops and avoids discrepancies between the vision and what is produced.”

Through the user friendly interface, users can upload a part design, get an instant quote, and view and comment on feature specific feedback from a Fictiv engineer. The annotations occur directly within the web-based 3D Viewer, allowing for a level of precision and speed unavailable with traditional feedback methods.

This feature is currently available for 3D printed and CNC machined parts, and addresses considerations such as wall thickness, internal radii, hole tapping, and more.

Current methods of design for manufacturability feedback are based on manual review and intervention, requiring lengthy conversations between engineers and machinists. Common communication tools like email, phone, and PowerPoint are time consuming and result in convoluted feedback that is difficult to act upon efficiently. By combining the best of computer automation with expert machinist knowledge, the Live Annotation feature decreases lead time, reduces design iterations, and ultimately increases productivity.

The Live Annotation feature is the first in a series of tools within the Fictiv platform to improve the design process for speed and quality, as Fictiv continues to give users controls over hardware development.